Computer-implemented method and system for collecting and communicating inspection information for a mechanism

ABSTRACT

An automated and computer-implemented method for collecting and communicating inspection information for a mechanism. The method includes receiving repair order information from a repair order, generating an electronic inspection form, including a questionnaire for inputting inspection information, receiving inspection information which is input into the questionnaire of the electronic inspection form, and transmitting at least a portion of each of the inspection information and the repair information to cause the repair order to be appended with the transmitted information to obtain an appended repair order. The information contained on the appended repair order is suitable for communication to an individual requesting repair of the mechanism.

REFERENCE TO A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX

This application includes a computer program listing appendix submittedon one compact disc and is incorporated into the specification byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

One aspect of the present invention relates generally to acomputer-implemented method and system for collecting and communicatinginspection information for a mechanism, and more specifically, anautomobile.

2. Background Art

For generations, vehicle owners have been visiting repair centers ordealerships for repair work. In general, the customer arrives at therepair center or dealership to be greeted by a vehicle service advisor,which attends to the customer's immediate repair needs. With theproliferation of computers, the vehicle service advisor often inputsrepair and vehicle information into a computerized repair form andprints a hard copy of the form upon completion. The hard copy is handedover to a technician who performs the repair work.

Often, the technician will also conduct a vehicle inspection while thecustomer's automobile is being serviced or repaired. Recently, thevehicle inspection has become focused and streamlined with the advent ofpaper inspection checklists, as exemplified by FIG. 1. FIG. 1 depicts anexample of a multi-point inspection report card, customer copy.Preferably, a file copy of the report card is attached under thecustomer copy so that the technician's markings made on the customercopy are reflected on the file copy. The report card, including thecustomer and file copies, is typically handed over to the vehicleservice advisor, who can advise the customer if additional repair orservice is recommended for their vehicle based on the inspectionresults. The file copy can be kept on file and the customer copy isgiven to the customer.

However, the non-automated and non-integrated process outlined has itsdrawbacks. For example, the completed checklist may not be given to theservice advisor until after the vehicle has been serviced, or even afterthe customer has left the repair center with the repaired vehicle.Moreover, technicians may by-pass completing the checklist becausecompletion is not tracked. Consequently, the service advisor misses anopportunity to convey additional service needs to the customer whilethey wait for their vehicle to be repaired. Moreover, the serviceadvisor sometimes neglects to apprise the customer of additional serviceneeds based on the inspection report. Further, inspection information iscommonly lost since the information is collected on paper, instead ofelectronically. Yet other information pertaining to the repair processmay not be collected, for example, information relevant to specificservice advisors and technicians. Due to the communication gap andinformation loss, managers can have difficulty tracking the performanceof their service advisors and technicians. Moreover, repair centers maymiss an opportunity to provide return customers service informationrelating to a prior inspection or future repair needs not apparent theday of the repair.

The above-identified process can also lead to inefficiencies. Namely,the technician often has to leave the repair/inspection area to deliverthe repair form to the service advisor. This additional step takes thetechnician away from his/her core task of repairing the vehicle.

Due to the disadvantages of the conventional method and system, thereexists a need to provide an automated and integratedcomputer-implemented method and system for collecting and communicatinginspection information for a mechanism, and more specifically, avehicle. Moreover, there exists a need to provide an automated andintegrated computer-implemented method and system for tracking andresolving customer concerns relating to the dealership experience.Furthermore, there exists a need to provide an automated and integratedcomputer-implemented method and system for conducting and trackingfollow-up relating to a customer's dealership experience.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One advantage of the present invention is a automated, integrated, andcomputer-implemented method and system for managing and trackingautomobile repair and inspection processes. Customer satisfaction can beenhanced by practicing the methods and/or systems of the presentinvention. Further, productivity of service technicians and advisors canbe increased in light of prior art systems by practicing the presentinvention. Also, the present invention can increase repair sales for adealership utilizing the automated, integrated, and computer implementedapproach of the present invention.

According to a first embodiment of the present invention, an automatedand computer-implemented method for collecting and communicatinginspection information for a mechanism is disclosed. In certainembodiments, the mechanism is an automobile. The method includesreceiving repair order information from a repair order, generating anelectronic inspection form based on a portion of the repair orderinformation, including a questionnaire for inputting inspectioninformation, receiving inspection information which is input into thequestionnaire of the electronic inspection form, and transmitting atleast a portion of each of the inspection information and the repairinformation to cause the repair order to be appended with thetransmitted information to obtain an appended repair order. Theinformation contained on the appended repair order is suitable forcommunication to an individual requesting repair of the mechanism.

The method can further include communicating information from theappended repair order to the individual. The method can also furtherinclude transmitting an e-mail alert or electronic notification whichincludes at least a portion of the inspection information. In certainembodiments, the method can include determining a value for a metricbased on the number of times one or more steps above can be executed.

In certain embodiments, each of the above steps can be executed one ormore times. In other words, the first receiving step occurs a secondnumber of times, the generating step occurs a second number of time, thesecond receiving step occurs a third number of time, the transmittingstep occurs a fourth number of time, and the communicating step occurs afifth number of times. Based on the amount of times one or more steps isexecuted, the method can determine a value for comparison to a metricbased on at least one of the first, second, third, fourth and fifthnumber of times. For example, the value can be the number of inspectionrequests as defined by the second number of times and the metric can beinspection requests. As another non-limiting example, the value can bethe number of inspections performed with feedback as defined by thethird number of times and the metric can be inspections performed withfeedback. Moreover, the value can be a communicating ratio defined asthe ratio of the fifth number of times to the fourth number of times andthe metric can be communication ratio.

In other embodiments, a sixth number of times can be defined as thenumber of times the communicating step is executed and results in thesale of additional service on the mechanism based on the inspectioninformation and the value can be a closing ratio defined as the ratio ofthe sixth number of times to the fourth number of times and the metriccan be closing ratio.

In certain embodiments, the repair order information can be received bya service management (SM) computer.

Further, the questionnaire can include a plurality of inspection items,each inspection item including two or more attention level indicators,the two or more attention level indicators including a green indicator,a yellow indicator, and a red indicator. The indicators are described indetail below.

The method of the first embodiment can further include accessing theappended repair order. The attention level for each inspection itemcontained in the appended repair order can be used as the basis forfollowing up with the customer regarding potential service on themechanism.

According to a second embodiment of the present invention, an automatedand computer-implemented method for collecting and communicatinginspection information for a mechanism. The method includes transmittingrepair order information from a repair order, receiving inspectioninformation input into an electronic inspection form and repair orderinformation, appending the repair order with at least a portion of eachof the inspection information and repair order information. Theinformation contained on the appended repair order is suitable forcommunication to an individual reporting repair of the mechanism.

The method can further includes transmitting an e-mail alert orelectronic notification which includes at least a portion of theinspection information. The method can also further includes determininga value for a metric based on the number of times one or more steps inthe method of the second embodiment is executed.

According to a third embodiment of the present invention, an automatedand computer-implemented system for collecting and communicatinginspection information for a mechanism is disclosed. The system caninclude one or more server computers operably serving one or more clientcomputers. The one or more server computers can be configured to:receive repair order information from a repair order, generate anelectronic inspection form based on a portion of the repair orderinformation, including a questionnaire for inputting inspectioninformation, receive inspection information from the client computerwhich is input into the questionnaire of the electronic inspection form;and transmit at least a portion of each of the inspection informationand the repair information to cause the repair order to be appended withthe transmitted information to obtain an appended repair order. Theinformation contained on the appended repair order is suitable forcommunication to an individual requesting repair of the mechanism.

The one or more server computers can be further configured to transmitan e-mail alert or electronic notification which includes at least aportion of the inspection information. The one or more server computerscan be further configured to determine a value for a metric based on thenumber of times one or more steps in the system of the third embodimentis executed.

According to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, an automatedand computer-implemented method for tracking follow-up relating to anindividual's dealership experience is disclosed. The method includesproviding an electronic customer survey relating to a dealershipexperience, the electronic survey is comprised of one or more questionshaving a quantifiable answer, each quantifiable answer having anacceptable standard. The method further includes receiving feedback inthe form of the individual's answers to the survey question which isinput into the electronic survey. For each question, the method comparesthe individual's answers to the acceptable standard. If the individual'sanswer fails to meet the standard, then the method generates a concernfile on a first date based on one or more answers failing to meet theone or more standards, receives information from the individualregarding the concern, transmits the information to the concern file,and transmits the individual concern file to a concern resolutionindividual or entity. The information can be used to resolve thecustomer concern.

The method of the fourth embodiment can further include transmitting anaction request to close a resolved concern file on a second date.Moreover, the method can include determining a resolution value based onthe time between the first date and the second date. The electroniccustomer survey can be embedded in an e-mail sent to the individual. Themechanism can be an automobile.

The above objects and other objects, features and advantages of thepresent invention are readily apparent from the following detaileddescription of the best mode for carrying out the invention when takenin connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a prior art example of a multi-point inspection reportcard;

FIG. 2 diagrammatically represents a computer system according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block flow diagram depicting a method embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a block flow diagram depicting a method embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is a block flow diagram depicting a method embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a graphical user interface (GUI) for displaying anelectronic report card and entering inspection information into theelectronic report card according to one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a GUI for displaying a list of contacts according toone embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a GUI for displaying and entering contact listinformation according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

One embodiment of the present invention is an automated andcomputer-implemented method for collecting and communicating inspectioninformation for a mechanism. The method includes receiving repair orderinformation from a repair order, generating an electronic inspectionform, including a questionnaire for inputting inspection information,receiving inspection information which is input into the questionnaireof the electronic inspection form, and transmitting at least a portionof each of the inspection information and the repair information tocause the repair order to be appended with the transmitted informationto obtain an appended repair order. The information contained on theappended repair order is suitable for communication to an individualrequesting repair of the mechanism.

Accordingly, FIG. 2 diagrammatically represents computer system 10 forimplementing a method embodiment of the present invention. Computersystem 10 can include one or more dealer computers 12, one or more webservers 14, one or more application servers 16, one or more proxyservers 18, one or more landing servers 20 (used for communicationswithin a secure environment), and one or more extranet servers 22 (usedwithin an external partner's secure environment) and one or more servicemanagement (SM) servers 24, and network connections linking computer 12and servers 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24. In certain embodiments, thepresent invention can be implemented in such a manner that one or moreservers 14 and 20 can be combined into one server. It should beunderstood that the network connection between servers 14 and 12;servers 22 and 24; and servers 20 and 22 can include the Internet. Itshould be further understood the network connections between servers 12and 14; server 24 and 26; servers 14 and 16; and server 18 and 20 caninclude a firewall for secure transmission of data. Non-limitingexamples of computer networks suitable for application to the presentinvention include local area networks (LANs), wide-area networks (WANs),and mixtures thereof.

Computer system 10 can include an organized sub-network architecture, asdepicted by boxes 11, 12 and 13. Box 11 represents a dealershipinfrastructure consisting of dealer computer 12, SM server 24 and SMdatabase 26. Box 12 represents a first level security layer, commonlyreferred to as a demilitarized zone or a gate keeping zone, typical oforganizations utilizing the public Internet to communicate with externalpartners and/or customers, which includes web server 14, landing server20, and network connections. Box 13 represents a manufacturersub-network, which includes application server 16, proxy server 18, andnetwork connections.

Application server 16 can communicate with database 28. Server 16 canutilize database 28 to search and retrieve a collection of dataorganized in database 28. Application server 16 is configured tooperably execute one or more computer modules 30 for use by computersystem 10. Non-limiting examples of computer modules include, a reportcard module, a concern prevention and resolution (CP&R) module, and afollow-up module. These modules are described in greater detail below.

Computer 12 and servers 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24 can communicate withone another through network connections and protocols. Dealer computer12 can be in communication with web server 14 such that outboundrequests and inbound responses can be received and transmitted,respectively, by computer 12 and web server 14. Web server 14 can be incommunication with application server 16 such that outbound requests andinbound responses can be received and transmitted, respectively, byservers 14 and 16, through a port connection, utilizing a TCP-IPcommunication protocol via the Internet, including XML. Applicationserver 16 can be in communication with proxy server 18 such thatoutbound requests can be transmitted by server 16 to server 18, throughthe use of Http protocol.

Proxy server 18 can transmit an inbound response to web server 24 usinghttp protocol with a persistent cookie. Further, proxy server 18 cantransmit an outbound request to extranet server 22, which in turntransmits a request to SM server 24. SM server 24 can access SM database26 to retrieve data requested. Landing server 20 can transmit an inboundresponse to proxy server 18, using http protocol. Extranet server 22 cantransmit an inbound response to landing server 20, using http protocol.It should be understood that depending on the embodiment, thecommunications described above can be executed using TCP-IPcommunication protocol via the Internet, including XML.

FIG. 3 is block flow diagram 32 depicting a method embodiment of thepresent invention. It should be understood that the block flow diagramillustrates a series of steps that can be performed according to thepresent invention. Steps may be modified, added, omitted, or rearrangeddepending on the particular embodiment of the present invention.

Block flow diagram 32 represents a method of utilizing a report cardmodule, residing on application server 16, for collecting andcommunicating inspection information for a mechanism. The report cardmodule can be web-based, utilizing the Internet and a number ofgraphical user interfaces (GUIs) to communicate with an individual orentity that triggers the collection and communication of inspectioninformation. For example, an individual or entity may trigger theprocess by requesting repair of a mechanism. An example of a mechanismincludes, but is not limited to an automobile. However, it should beunderstood that other mechanisms are contemplated by the presentinvention as long as they are capable of being repaired and inspected.Non-limiting examples include automotive systems (e.g. a brake system, atransmission, or engine), snowmobiles, airplanes, and heavy machinery.Users of the report card module include, but are not limited to,individuals and entities (otherwise referred to as customers) requestingrepair or inspection and repair center employees, for example,technicians, service advisors, and service managers.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a processutilizing the report card module begins with a customer arriving at arepair center so that repair work can be performed on the customer'sautomobile, as depicted in block 34 of FIG. 3. Upon arriving, a serviceadvisor may advise the customer that the repair center will perform avehicle inspection, as depicted in block 36. The service advisor canenter a code, for example, “99P”, into a user interface displayed onservice manager system computer 12 and hosted by SM server 24. The codeis appended to an electronic repair order that is maintained by SMserver 24.

In certain embodiments, a XML package is transmitted to SM server 24using computer system 10 to validate and append to the electronic repairorder. Listing 1 and 2 included on the computer program listing appendixcontain example of a XML package for validating and appending to theelectronic repair order, respectfully. It should be understood that thecontent, arrangement and language of the generic request XML package ofListings 1 and 2 can be rearranged, modified and/or supplemented to bestfit the communication between SM server 24 and application server 16.The service advisor also enters information relating to the customer andthe purpose of the visit. For instance, the purpose of the visit can bea lubication, oil and filter service.

Once the data entry is completed, the service advisor prints out a hardcopy of the electronic repair order and has the customer sign it. Asdepicted in block 38, the repair order is delivered to a technician.Upon receiving a repair order, the technician begins the process ofentering information into an electronic report card form, as depicted inblock 40. It should be understood that the technician also starts towork on the repair(s) requested by the customer. In certain embodiments,the technician uses a hand-held computer device to perform the dataentry. It should be understood that other computer devices can also beutilized, including, but not limited to, a desktop computer, a notebookcomputer, and a personal digital assistant (PDA).

The report card module generates a logon GUI for display on thehand-held computer. The logon GUI includes data entry fields for auserid and password and a “next” button for transmitting the contents ofthe data entry fields to the report card module for verification. Afterverification, the report card module generates an employee number GUIfor display on the hand-held computer. The employee number GUI includesa data entry field for an employee number and a “next” button fortransmitting the contents of the data entry field to the report cardmodule for verification. The employee number can be used to track metricvalues for specific technicians. Upon verification, the technician isprompted to enter a repair order number, which appears on the hard copyof the electronic repair order. The report card module verifies that therepair order is valid and assigned to the employee having the employeenumber already entered.

After verification, an electronic report card form is generated by thereport card module and displayed on the hand-held computer. FIG. 6illustrates a GUI for displaying the electronic report card and enteringinspection information into the electronic report card, according to oneembodiment of the present invention. GUI 100 includes informationsection 102 and input section 104. Information section 102 includesinformation regarding the service of the customer's vehicle, including,but not limited to, repair order, tag, customer name, vehicleidentification number (VIN), year/model, mileage, drivers licensenumber, date of repair, service advisor number, and technician number.

Input section 104 includes an “every 5,000 (or 3,000) mile” sub-section106, an “every 15,000 miles” sub-section 108, an “every 30,000 miles”sub-section 110, a “tire inspection” sub-section 112, a “batteryperformance” sub-section 114, a “brake inspection” sub-section 116, anda “general comments” sub-section 118. Each sub-section 106 through 116includes a number of inspection items. Each inspection item is tiedeither to a color-coded or non-color-coded selection area. In certainembodiments, the color-coded section includes green, yellow, and redsections. Green indicates that the technician has inspected the item andit does not need further attention. Yellow indicates that since there issome wear on an inspected part, repair work will be needed in the nearfuture. For instance, if a technician inspects the brakes and sees thatthey are fine now, but will need work in the near future, the technicianwould select the button in the yellow area. Red indicates that aninspected part needs immediate attention. For instance, if a customercame in for an oil change, and in the process of the inspection, thetechnician discovers very serious tire wear, then the technician wouldselect the button in the red area. In certain embodiments, the non-colorcoded sections include two radio buttons, one for an “OK” level and onefor an “ADD” level.

Sub-section 106 includes, but is not limited to, the followinginspection items: washer fluid, transmission fluid, brake fluid, powersteering fluid, coolant, clutch/axle fluid for trucks, horn, lamps,signals, washer, wipers, blades, windshield, hoses, fluid leaks, CV axleboots, exhaust system, drive shaft, shift linkage, steering, linkages,and suspension. Sub-section 108 includes, but is not limited to, brakesystem and cooling system. Sub-section 110 includes, but is not limitedto, drive belt(s), battery terminals, clutch operation, and evaporativesystem. Sub-section 112 includes, but is not limited to, tread depth andwear pattern/damage for each tire, and tire pressure. Sub-section 114includes, but is not limited to, radio buttons for the status of thebattery (good, recharge, and bad). Sub-section 116, includes, but is notlimited to, disc and drum measurements for the left front, right front,left rear, and right rear brakes. Sub-section 118 allows the technicianto enter general comments about the inspection.

In certain embodiments, the following items are considered required,i.e. failure to check all these items results in an error message:washer fluid, transmission fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid,coolant, clutch/axle fluid for trucks, horn, lamps, signals, washer,wipers, blades, windshield, hoses, fluid leaks, CV axle boots, exhaustsystem, drive shaft, shift linkage, steering, linkages, suspension,tread depth and wear pattern/damage for each tire, tire pressure, discand drum measurements for the left front, right front, left rear, andright rear brakes.

GUI 100 also includes “cancel” button 120, “save” button 122, and“complete report card” button 124. “Cancel” button 120 can be utilizedif the technician is informed that the inspection is not necessary.“Save” button 122 can be utilized in the technician is pulled away fromfilling out the electronic form in favor of another activity. “Completereport card” button 124 can be utilized once the report card form iscompleted.

Once the technician clicks on “complete report card” button 124, ane-mail or electronic notification containing the report card inspectioninformation can be sent to the service advisor's e-mail address. Incertain embodiments, an e-mail alert or electronic notification is sentif the inspection identified concerns, e.g., any yellow or redconditions, as depicted in decision block 42 and block 44 of FIG. 3.

Advantageously, the service advisor can immediately contact the customerafter receiving and reviewing the e-mail or electronic notification torecommend additional service based on the inspection results, asdepicted in block 46 of FIG. 3. As an additional benefit, the contactcan occur while the technician is working on the original repair and/ormaintenance task, thus reducing technician downtime. In certainembodiments, the service advisor can recommend repair on inspectionitems having a yellow and/or red condition, as depicted in block 46.With respect to the yellow condition, the service advisor can mentionthat repair may be needed during the customer's next visit.

As depicted in blocks 45, 47 and 48 of FIG. 3, if additional repairitem(s) are identified, the report card module can transmit additionalservice needs to the service manager system which appends theappropriate electronic repair order. In certain embodiments, a XMLpackage is transmitted to SM server 24 to add labor line(s) to theelectronic repair order. It should be understood that the content,arrangement and language of the generic request XML package can berearranged, modified and/or supplemented to best fit the communicationbetween SM server 24 and application server 16.

Additionally, data regarding the additional repair item(s) can be storedin SM database 26 for reporting and analysis purposes as depicted inblocks 45 and 48 of FIG. 3. If additional repair item(s) are not sold,comments are entered in a labor line and can be stored in database 26.For example, the comment “customer declined repair” can be entered.Advantageously, this comment can create a process check point during thecustomer's next visit, thus documenting for both the dealership and thecustomer that repairs have been declined. The report card moduleincludes functionality for printing and displaying the report card form.

As depicted in block 49 of FIG. 3, the report card module can determinevalues for selected metrics. Examples of metrics for technicians,include, but are not limited to, report cards processed per day, thepercentage of report cards processed with completed inspection, numberof alerts, i.e. concerns, generated by inspections. Examples of metricsfor service advisors include, but are not limited to, repair ordersprocessed per day, closing ratio defined as the percentage of serviceneeds identified by the inspection that are sold to the customer, anddollar amount of up-sells as a result of the service advisor receiving ared and/or yellow alert. Examples of metrics provided for a cashier at aservice/repair center, include, but are not limited to, report cardsprinted as a percentage of those available to print.

FIG. 4 is block flow diagram 50 depicting a method embodiment of thepresent invention. It should be understood that block flow diagram 50illustrates a series of steps that can be performed according to thepresent invention. Steps may be modified, added, omitted, or rearrangeddepending on the particular embodiment of the present invention.

Block flow diagram 50 represents a method of utilizing a concernprevention and resolution (“CP&R”) module, residing on applicationserver 16, for tracking and resolving customer concerns relating to acustomer's dealership experience. The CP&R module provides acomputer-implemented tool for managing customer contacts.

In block 52, a customer contact is created by the CP&R module. Thecustomer contact can be created based on various reasons. For instance,a customer's response to a sales and/or service survey may not meetdealer-specified score levels. Alternatively, the customer contact canbe generated because additional customer comments are noted inadditional comments area of an electronic follow-up form. Further, adealership employee can manually enter a customer contact.

Once a customer contact is created, an e-mail or electronic notificationis transmitted to a customer relations manager (CRM), as depicted inblock 54. As depicted in block 56 and 58, the CP&R module can allow aCRM or supervisor to assign a customer contact to an individual foraction. When an individual is assigned a contact, that individual canreceive an e-mail notice or electronic notification, containing an IDfor the contact.

The CP&R can generate a contact list GUI, which displays contact(s)assigned to an individual. The contact list GUI can be displayed upon anindividual's request. FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a GUI 140 fordisplaying a list of contacts, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. GUI 140 includes one contact entry 142. It should beunderstood that a contact list GUI can include several contact entries.Contact entry 142 includes several pieces of information regarding thecontact, e.g., contact ID, contact icon, contact name, open date,originator, assigned to person, days open, department, source, status,and cause. According to contact entry 140, the contact icon is a star,signaling that this is a new contact. GUI 140 also includes “print all”button 144, “print” button 146, “back” button 148, and “next” button150. “Print all” button 144 can be clicked to print all contact entries.“Print” button 146 can be clicked to print the current contact entry.“Back” and “next” buttons 148 and 150 can be used to navigate betweencontact entries.

An individual can click on the contact icon to display a contactinformation GUI, generated by the CP&R module. FIG. 8 illustrates anexample of a contact list GUI 160 for displaying and entering contactlist information, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. GUI 160 can include three windows, i.e. customer profilewindow 162, contact summary window 164, and contact detail window 166.Customer profile window 162 includes six buttons, which can be clickedon to provide additional information regarding the contact. The buttonsinclude, but are not limited to, “customer profile” button 168, “contacthistory” button 170, “view alerts” button 172, “vehicle profile” button174, “service history” button 176, and “service follow up” button 178.Upon selecting “customer profile” button 168, the module retrieves thecustomer's profile. In certain embodiments, a XML package is transmittedto SM server 24 to retrieve the customer profile. Computer listing 3 isan example of a retrieval XML package. Upon selecting “contact history”button 170, the module retrieves the contact history. Upon selecting“view alerts” button 172, the module retrieves any alerts for thecustomer. Upon selecting “vehicle profile” button 174, the moduleretrieves a vehicle profile for the customer's vehicle. Upon selecting“service history” button 176, the module retrieves the service historyfor the customer's vehicle. In certain embodiments, a XML package istransmitted to SM server 24 to retrieve the service history. Computerlisting 4 is an example of a retrieval XML package for retrieving aservice history. Upon selecting “service follow up” button 178, themodule retrieves service follow up information for a customer's vehicle.

Contact summary window 164 displays contact information, including, butnot limited to, contact date, department involved, and individualassigned to contact. In block 58 of FIG. 4, the CRM can request anaction from the individual assigned the contact. Information regardingthe requested action can be displayed in contact detail window 166. TheCP&R module includes functionality that tracks the acknowledgment of anassigned contact depicted in decision block 59 of FIG. 4. If the contactis not acknowledged within 24 hours an e-mail alert or electronicnotification can be automatically forwarded to the assigned individual'ssupervisor as shown in block 59, at which time additional actions arerequested in block 58.

According to contact detail window 166, the action requested is “CONTACTCUSTOMER FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION”. In this example, the individualcontacts the customer to resolve the issue, as depicted by block 60 ofFIG. 4. For instance, the individual could offer the customer a free oilchange, as the action taken. Once the action is taken, an add actiontaken sub-window can be displayed by clicking on the “next” button. Thesub-window includes, but is not limited to, action taken drop down box,reminder input box, requested action drop down box, comment input box,redirect drop down box, “cancel” button, and “save” button. In certaincircumstances, a contact cannot be resolved before it becomes overduebecause the customer may not be available. In this situation, theindividual can input a convenient date in the reminder input box.Further, the individual can redirect the contact after taking action, asdepicted in block 62 of FIG. 4. For instance, the individual canredirect a resolved contact to the originating CRM, which will receivean e-mail or electronic notification regarding the same. Upon clickingon the “save” button, the add action taken sub-window disappears and theaction and comments appear in the contact detail window.

Advantageously, the CP&R module collects information for use in trackingand analyzing the CP&R process. For example, the CP&R moduleautomatically track the individual that is assigned to a contact forresolution handling. Additionally, the CP&R module can track the statusof the contact. The CP&R module also tracks the average number of daysto resolve a contact from its origination date, generating a customerconcern file based on one or more answers, failing to meet the one ormore standards on a first date, receiving information from the customerregarding the concern transmitting the information to the customerconcern file, and transmitting the customer concern file to a concernresolution individual or entity, the customer information being used toresolve the customer concern.

Block flow diagram 70 of FIG. 5 represents a method of utilizing afollow-up module, residing on application server 16, for trackingfollow-up relating to a dealership experience. The follow-up moduleprovides a computer-implemented tool for managing the process offollowing-up on a customer's dealership experience.

As depicted in block 72, contact is initiated with an individual after adealership experience, for example, completion of repairs requested bythe customer. A follow-up person can utilize the follow-up module toobtain sales and service follow-up call requests for processing. Incertain embodiments, XML packages are transmitted to SM server 24 toretrieve sales and service follow-up call requests. Computer listings 5and 6 are examples of XML packages for retrieving sales and servicefollow-up call requests, respectfully. As depicted in block 74, feedbackis received by the customer after contact is initiated. The contactinitiation and feedback collection can be accomplished by the systemthrough an e-mail survey, a follow-up person, follow-up agency, orsurveyor, either employed or not employed by a dealership.

In certain embodiments, the contact can be initiated via a telephonecall. If the customer agrees to participate in a follow-up survey, theservice follow-up person can ask the customer a number of questions,which are contained on an electronic survey document, viewable from aweb browser or word processing application. The electronic surveydocument can include one or more input boxes for inputting answers givento survey questions. Depending on the answers, the follow-up person isdirected to the next question on the electronic document.

For example, the follow-up person can ask the individual to rate anexperience based on a range (low to high) or yes/no questions. Forinstance, the individual can be asked “were you greeted by our servicestaff within two minutes of your arrival?” If the individual answersaffirmatively, the electronic survey document prompts the follow-upperson to ask another question. If the individual answers negatively,the electronic survey document may prompt the follow-up person to askdifferent question, addressing the negative response.

In other embodiments, the contact can be initiated by automaticallytransmitting a survey to a customer's e-mail address. This alternativemay be utilized if data stored in the SM server 24 indicates that thecustomer prefers e-mail contact. The e-mail contains a request toconduct a survey via a web link that is provided. Once the individualclicks on the web link, a survey GUI generated by the follow-up moduleand hosted by application server 16 is displayed for completing thesurvey.

In either case described above, telephone or e-mail contact, a dealercan identify a trigger value wherein a customer's response may triggerthe follow-up module to automatically generate a customer contact filethat is transmitted to the CP&R module for further processing andresolution. For example, any dissatisfaction may trigger the generationof a customer contact file.

As depicted by block 76, the follow-up module can determine a value fora metric based on the individual feedback and other informationcollected during the follow-up process. In certain situations,pre-selected thresholds for individual customer response will be met asshown in decision 78 of FIG. 5. In this case, the follow-up module canautomatically open a customer contact in CP&R as shown in block 80. Incertain embodiments, the amount of time used to complete a survey can betracked as a metric. The follow-up module can store a time stampindicating when survey data entry begins and ends. A survey time can bedefined as the time between the two time stamps. The survey time isrelied upon to track the performance of individuals responsible for thesurvey. Additionally, the follow-up module can track the number ofsurvey started and finished for individual surveyors. This informationcan be used to compute a percentage of surveys completed by a specificsurveyor on a specific day.

While the best mode for carrying out the invention has been described indetail, those familiar with the art to which this invention relates willrecognize various alternative designs and embodiments for practicing theinvention as defined by the following claims.

1. An automated and computer-implemented method for collecting andcommunicating inspection information for a mechanism, the method iscomprised of: receiving repair order information from a repair order;generating an electronic inspection form based on a portion of therepair order information, including a questionnaire for inputtinginspection information; receiving inspection information which is inputinto the questionnaire of the electronic inspection form; andtransmitting at least a portion of each of the inspection informationand the repair order information to cause the repair order to beappended with the transmitted information to obtain an appended repairorder, wherein information contained on the appended repair order issuitable for communication to an individual requesting repair of themechanism.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising communicatinginformation from the appended repair order to the individual.
 3. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising transmitting an e-mail alert orelectronic notification for alerting a service advisor of at least aportion of the inspection information.
 4. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising executing the steps of the method of claim 1 one or moretimes and determining a value for a metric based on the number of times.5. The method of claim 2 wherein the first receiving step occurs asecond number of times, the generating step occurs a second number oftime, the second receiving step occurs a third number of time, thetransmitting step occurs a fourth number of time, and the communicatingstep occurs a fifth number of times, each number being greater than one.6. The method of claim 5 further comprising determining a value forcomparison to a metric based on at least one of the first, second,third, fourth and fifth number of times.
 7. The method of claim 6wherein the value is the number of inspection requests as defined by thesecond number of times and the metric is inspection requests.
 8. Themethod of claim 6 wherein the value is the number of inspectionsperformed with feedback as defined by the third number of times and themetric is inspections performed with feedback.
 9. The method of claim 6wherein the value is a communicating ratio defined as the ratio of thefifth number of times to the fourth number of times and the metric iscommunication ratio.
 10. The method of claim 4 wherein a sixth number oftimes is defined as the number of times the communicating step isexecuted and results in the sale of additional service on the mechanismbased on the inspection information and the value is a closing ratiodefined as the ratio of the sixth number of times to the fourth numberof times and the metric is closing ratio.
 11. The method of claim 1wherein the repair order information is received by a service management(SM) computer.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein the questionnaireincludes a plurality of inspection items, each inspection item includingtwo or more attention level indicators, the two or more attention levelindicators including a green indicator, a yellow indicator, and a redindicator.
 13. The method of claim 12 further comprising accessing theappended repair order, wherein the attention level for each inspectionitem contained in the appended repair order is used as the basis forfollowing up with the customer regarding potential service on themechanism.
 14. The method of claim 1 wherein the mechanism is anautomobile.
 15. An automated and computer-implemented method forcollecting and communicating inspection information for a mechanism, themethod is comprised of: transmitting repair order information from arepair order; receiving inspection information input into an electronicinspection form and repair order information; and appending the repairorder with at least a portion of each of the inspection information andrepair order information; wherein information contained on the appendedrepair order is suitable for communication to an individual reportingrepair of the mechanism.
 16. The method of claim 15 further comprisingtransmitting an e-mail alert or electronic notification which includesat least a portion of the inspection information.
 17. The method ofclaim 15 further comprising executing the steps of the method of claim 1one or more times and determining a value for a metric based on thenumber of times.
 18. An automated and computer-implemented system forcollecting and communicating inspection information for a mechanism, thesystem comprising one or more server computers operably serving one ormore client computers, the one or more server computers configured to:receive repair order information from a repair order; generate anelectronic inspection form based on a portion of the repair orderinformation, including a questionnaire for inputting inspectioninformation; receive inspection information from the client computerwhich is input into the questionnaire of the electronic inspection form;and transmit at least a portion of each of the inspection informationand the repair order information to cause the repair order to beappended with the transmitted information to obtain an appended repairorder, wherein information contained on the appended repair order issuitable for communication to an individual requesting repair of themechanism.
 19. The system of claim 18 wherein the one or more servercomputers is further configured to transmit an e-mail alert orelectronic notification which includes at least a portion of theinspection information.
 20. The system of claim 18 wherein the one ormore server computers is further configured to execute the steps of themethod of claim 1 one or more times and determine a value for a metricbased on the number of times.
 21. An automated and computer-implementedmethod for tracking follow-up relating to an individual's dealershipexperience, the method comprised of: providing an electronic customersurvey relating to a dealership experience, the electronic survey iscomprised of one or more questions having a quantifiable answer, eachquantifiable answer having an acceptable standard; receiving feedback inthe form of the individual's answers to the survey question which isinput into the electronic survey; for each question, comparing theindividual's answers to the acceptable standard; if the individual'sanswer fails to meet the standard; generating a concern file on a firstdate based on one or more answers failing to meet the one or morestandards; receiving information from the individual regarding theconcern; transmitting the information to the concern file; andtransmitting the individual concern file to a concern resolutionindividual or entity, the information being used to resolve the customerconcern.
 22. The method of claim 21 further comprising transmitting anaction request to close a resolved concern file on a second date. 23.The method of claim 22 further comprising determining a resolution valuebased on the time between the first date and the second date.
 24. Themethod of claim 21 wherein the electronic customer survey is embedded inan e-mail sent to the individual.
 25. The method of claim 21 wherein themechanism is an automobile.